Box Score / Box Score (PDF)

Brooklyn Heights, NY - Fueled by game-changing 32-11 run that bridged the end of the first half and the first 12-plus minutes of the second half, Wagner won for the eighth-straight time by a 73-61 score at St. Francis (NY). The Seahawks also were victorious on the road for the sixth-straight time while forcing the Terriers into 23 turnovers that led to 28 points.

Wagner improves to 15-3 and 6-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) and will host defending league champion Long Island, which is 13-6 and 7-0 in the NEC, on Saturday night at 7:00 pm in a game that will air on ESPNU.

The Seahawks overcame an 11-point first-half deficit, its largest in a victory this year, in recording the longest winning streak in program history since the 1978-1979 season while improving to 15-3 and 6-1 in the league while SFNY sees its four-game winning streak foiled in falling to 8-10 and 5-2 in the NEC.

Next up for the Green & White will be Blackbirds, who are also riding an eight-game winning streak, on Saturday night at 7:00 pm in the first-ever regular season telecast by the ESPN family of networks in the Spiro Sports Center. LIU is the NEC's lone remaining unbeaten team at 13-6 and 7-0 in the league and will put its 20-game winning streak against conference competition on the line.

In tonight's action, St. Francis (NY) stormed out of the gates with an 7-2 run in opening an 18-11 lead at the 10:31 mark of the first half. The Terrier lead would grow to 33-22 with 3:42 to play before halftime following a three-point play from Jalen Cannon. SFNY built its lead thanks to converting on 59.1 percent (13-22) of its shots while winning the battle of the boards by a 17-8 margin up to that point.

Down but not out, the Wagner offense woke up thanks to senior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce), who began a 12-3 run with a jumper before capping it with a pair from the line in slicing the double-digit deficit to 36-34 with 17 seconds until intermission. Johnson would momentarily quell the momentum by splitting a pair from the line in staking the home team to a 37-34 lead at the break.

Despite allowing the Terriers to shoot 53.8 percent in the opening half, the Seahawks managed to stay in the game thanks to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers to go along with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench from sophomore Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep).

The Green & White quickly grabbed the lead for the first time with a quick 7-2 spurt in opening up a 41-39 lead with 16:57 to play, capped by a pair from the line from sophomore Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi). After Brent Jones quickly tied the game up at 41-41 with a layup, sophomore Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA)) put Wagner up for good with a ferocious slam dunk off a Murray no-look pass while sparking a 13-3 spurt, putting the Seahawk lead at 54-44 with 12:12 to play.

St. Francis (NY) would trim the lead to six at 55-49 with 6:25 to play on a Stefan Perunicic three pointer and appeared to be on the verge mounting a rally. However, Murray would have none of that, draining a three at the top of the key on the next possession before Ortiz converted a pair of layups off of steals in staking the Seahawks to an insurmountable 62-49 lead with 4:43 to play.

The advantage would grow to 18 at 69-51 with 2:00 to play following a fastbreak dunk by junior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / CC of San Francisco) before the Green & Whie came away with the 73-61 victory while setting up Saturday's highly anticipated match-up between the first and second place teams in the NEC.

Murray scored a game-high 19 points, on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, while adding three assists and three steals. Ortiz, deposited nine of his 11 points after halftime while handing out five assists and recording four steals. Matching Ortiz with 11 points was Williams while Parker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and six rebounds over just 17 minutes.

Wagner shot 46.9 percent (23-49) from the floor, highlighed by converting 15 of its final 28 shots, and 70.0 percent (21-30) from the line while forcing 23 turnovers that led to a 28-6 advantage in points off turnovers. St. Francis (NY), meanwhile, made good on 46.8 percent (22-47) from the field, but made converted just 26.3 percent (5-19) from long range.

Perunicic (16 points), Johnson (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Cannon (11 points, 9 rebounds) paced a spirited Terrier effort.

The Seahawks swept the season-series from the Terriers for first time since the 2004-2005 season and for just the ninth time in a series that dates back to the 1928-1929 season. Wagner also picked up its eighth true road win of the year, matching #10 Murray State and Cleveland State for the most in the Division I ranks this season. The Green & White also improved to 7-0 when forcing at least 20 turnovers and are 15-1 when leading with five minutes to play.

For those who can't watch Saturday's game on ESPNU, those wishing to listen can do so by tuning into the Seahawk Broadcasting Network via Red Zone Media or by clicking HERE